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Sucker (Album)
| last album picture = Charli_XCX_-_True_Romance.png | next album picture = | last album = True Romance (Album) | album = Sucker | next album = TBA | last release = 2013 | album release = 2014 | next release = TBA }} Sucker (stylised as SUCKER) is the second studio album by Charli XCX, released on 15 December 2014 by Asylum and Atlantic Records. The album was met with positive reviews from critics, praising its throwback style, and ended up being included on many year-end lists for best albums of the preceding twelve months. Sucker has spawned the singles "Boom Clap", "Break the Rules" and "Doing It", with the latter featuring fellow English singer Rita Ora. Charli promoted the album through a series of public appearances and televised live performances, as well as appearing on the Jingle Ball Tour 2014. The album was supported by Charli's Girl Power North America Tour, which lasted from September to October 2014. Background In 2013, Charli released her first major studio album, True Romance. The album received positive reviews by music critics, who praised its unique style. However, the album failed to chart on major markets. On 13 March 2014, she revealed to Complex that she had begun working on her second album with Weezer frontman Rivers Cuomo and Rostam Batmanglij of Vampire Weekend. Stargate duo and John Hill were also confirmed as producers. In an interview with DIY magazine, she stated that she wrote the record for girls and wants them to feel "a sense of empowerment". Charli explained in her tour diary with Replay Laserblast that the record's genre is still pop, but has "a very shouty, girl-power, girl-gang, Bow Wow Wow" feel to it at the same time. She also said in an interview with Idolator that Sucker would contain punk influences. On 7 January 2015, it was announced that the European release of the album would be pushed back yet again to 16 February 2015, featuring a revised track listing, including the new version of "Doing It" featuring Rita Ora, as well as the tracks "So Over You" and "Red Balloon". Critical Response Sucker received generally positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, Sucker received an average score of 75, based on 25 reviews. In rating the release four stars for Rolling Stone, Will Hermes claims "Sucker is no retro gesture: Charli runs the album's rock & roll guitars and attitude through enough distressed digital production and thumb type vernacular to make this the first fully updated iteration of punk pop in ages... Like so many of the pop pleasures here, it's a sentiment that just never gets old." Miles Raymer writing for Entertainment Weekly in an A- review, suggests "SUCKER is pop-punk, radically redefined and dragged, middle fingers waving, into the future." A three out of four star review came from USA Today by Brian Mansfield, where he pens "On Sucker, XCX doesn't just tweak the ear-candy pop template, she blows it up, then pries the shiniest bits from the asphalt. It's still sweet once she's finished sticking it back together, but it's got a bit of crunch, too." In a four star review for AllMusic, Heather Phares says "Sucker's mix of youth and sophistication is more than a little volatile, and sometimes it feels like XCX is still figuring out what really works for her music... Nevertheless, it succeeds as an introduction to Charli XCX the Pop Star while retaining her whip-smart songwriting and attitude." Commercial Performance Sucker peaked at number 28 on the US Billboard 200 with 28,000 Equivalent Units much of which came from song streaming rather than pure sales. In the UK the album reached number 15 with over 5,000 copies. As of 2018 the album has sold 53,000 copies in the US, 21,000 copies in the UK, and 125,000 copies worldwide. =Commercial Performance Sucker peaked at number 28 on the US Billboard 200 with over 20,000 units. As of 2018 Sucker has sold 53,000 copies in the US. The album reached number 15 on the UK albums chart selling over 5,000 opening week sales. As of 2018 the album has sold 21,000 copies in the UK. Worldwide the album has sold just over 100,000 copies as of 2018. Tracklist Category:Albums